Land surveyors once used tape measures and transits to measure distances and positions. Since the 1980s, electronic distance measurement, or EDM, devices have allowed for much more efficient and accurate measurements. These work with a wave of energy that is shot between the EDM instrument and a reflector. The time the beam takes to come back is then calculated as distance. Today, such calculations can be carried out using sophisticated GPS systems.
The Global Positioning System uses a network of satellites to precisely pinpoint the device's location on Earth at any moment. GPS uses the principle of trilateration, using the location of several satellites to pinpoint a precise location. A receiver can determine the latitude, longitude, and elevation of a spot using four or more satellites; there are a total of 24 Global Positioning System satellites currently in use. First created by the U.S. Department of Defense as a navigational assist in 1994, today it is found in many devices, tracking everything from mobile phones and delivery vehicles to the movement of the tectonic plates of Earth's crust.

Land surveyors use Global Position Systems to note the complete coordinates of spatial locations. Exact measurement of these positions is one of the fundamental components of land surveying. The benefit of is that it's much more accurate than hand-measuring these locations. There's some degree of error in every land surveying measurements, due to human errors, environmental characteristics like variations in magnetic fields, temperature, and gravity, and instrument errors. GPS allows for much more precise measurements than previously open to land surveyors using measuring tape and an angle sight.
Another benefit of the use of its use as a land surveyor is that the coordinates could be located precisely, while other methods of land surveying rely on measurements from other known locations, like the edge of the house line, the corner of a house, or another landmark. These locations could change as time passes, such as in case a house is torn down or another obstacle is built between the structure and the measured point; even a surveyor's stake could be removed prior to the land is re-surveyed. The coordinate of confirmed location on Earth, however, remains the same. Therefore, using GPS as a land surveyor produces measurements which will be accurate no matter what happens to the surrounding land.
Although Global Position System receivers enable very precise measurements, there is still a qualification of error involved. A receiver on a tripod will record the location slightly differently each time; when many measurements are taken, these data points will form a cluster round the actual location. Better- https://barkersurveyingltd.co.uk/best-residential-surveyors-cheshire/ , of course, reduce this level of error. Survey-grade receivers, rather than those meant for non-surveying uses, may create a group of measurements clustered within just one centimeter of the actual location. Today's receivers are steadily gaining used, but may not be as accurate as the surveyor want, especially in areas that are heavily wooded or which have other large obstructions. However, the technology is rapidly advancing and gaining a foothold in the available equipment for land surveyors. Since 1994, the accuracy available when working with GPS units has improved steadily.